The Dahmen Book Club is dedicated to the late Christian Dahmen, our first independent board member. Christian was a prolific reader and each year, at our strategic retreat, he would present the books he felt were most applicable to our journey, either past or present. This became a bit of a tradition, and even when he wasn't able to be at the retreat in person, he'd video his book selection for us, urging us to think differently and stretch ourselves, or to praise us in our alignment to new and fresh thinking. Upon his death, Christian dedicated his book collection to us, and we now have an enviable library of wonderful business books.

Reviewed for TakeON! by Phil Jackman

Meditation is a subject that comes up quite often in the context of development. If you are interested and want to give it a go, but are a complete novice to the subject, this book is worth a read.

Andy Puddicombe is a registered clinical meditation consultant who practices and teaches meditation and uses it in his clinic. A former Buddhist monk, he has travelled all over the world and has now set up Headspace in the UK to demystify meditation and make it accessible and relevant to as many people as possible. Puddicombe’s book Get Some Headspace takes the reader through the many benefits of meditation and also mindfulness, which is being self-aware and able to live ‘in the moment’. It introduces the concept of ‘headspace’, the ability to create space in your own head that allows you to see your own life more clearly. This is done through a ten minute a day meditation session referred to as Take 10. There are 10 exercises to show you the different ways that you can get started and 10 suggestions as to why living life more mindfully is worth pursuing:

Perspective – choosing how you see your life

Communication – relating to others

Appreciation – smelling the roses

Kindness – towards both yourself and others

Compassion – in the shoes of others

Balance – a sense of equanimity

Acceptance – resistance is futile

Composure – letting go of impatience

Dedication – sticking with it

Presence – living life skillfully

The book ends with some stories of people who came to the clinic and that have helped themselves through meditation.

What I like about the book:

It’s not a long read and can be picked up and put down

There are lots of stories that add to the reader’s understanding

The concept is simple and at 10 minutes a day, not too onerous

There are exercises throughout the book which add to your knowledge as you read.

There are explanations as to the likely benefits of using the techniques

What I didn’t like:

The author clearly understands why he uses meditation but does not make it clear what it is or why a novice should bother until late on in the book.

He has spent a lot of his life as a Buddhist monk living and meditating in monasteries and I found it difficult to relate to this.

Many of the stories used were about people who were having problems in their lives and saw meditation as a solution and if the reader is not in this position they can be left feeling that it is not for them.

The stories from the clinic reinforce the notion that meditation is a cure.

In short When I read the book I felt a bit let down but having tried some of the exercises I am beginning to feel the benefit and change my view. If you already want to try meditation but haven’t found a way to get started then this book is ideal.

What next?

READ Get Some Headspace

More information and support is available at the Get Some Headspace website